Setbacks and Shortcomings
This was a doozy of a week. I post about being persistent, then I have almost a whole week of under-performing and overindulging. I was not nearly as diligent as I have been in weeks past. I ate fast food, I had sweets, I became lackadaisical about tracking my caloric intake, and I think worst of all I only made it to the gym two (2) times this week. To me that felt like the biggest let down or failure. On the days I did make it I found myself devoid of energy and with non-existent endurance. Overall I would say that this week was humbling and eye-opening; it was SO easy to let good efforts fall apart. Thank goodness for the people in my life who are acting as my accountability partners, and thank goodness for this blog, which acts as an additional partner. Just knowing I was going to have to write this week and talk about all of the shortcomings I had this week was weighing on me. Fortunately, despite all of the negativity I am feeling about myself and my performance, I also found it motivating to eat better, do better, and be better in my efforts.
I have gotten the question about what keeps me going after a slip-up, and what keeps me motivated. This week, I feel like I lost all motivation and energy for the changes. that being said, I still have things that motivate me and keep me going:
Motivation: My motivation in a lot of ways was vanity, curiosity, and a 'challenge accepted' mentality. When I started this, I was looking the mirror and I hated what I saw. I watch movies, particularly superhero movies and all I saw is what I wanted to look like. That may not be realistic, to compare myself to actor paid millions to peak physical condition, but it sparked a jealousy and maybe a a curiosity to see what I could do, to see what I could look like. To keep that I made a sort of vision board that I see everyday that has images of what my body part ideals would be. (abs, arms, etc...) and it is the reminder of what I want to accomplish. That being said motivation can only carry you so far, it is impossible to always be motivated. When motivation fails, that is where discipline and habits carry you. But sometimes, you need a flotation device.
Flotation Device (Discipline Aid): The waters of change get turbulent and sometime will overwhelm your efforts to tread them. What keeps me afloat right now, and all the times the waters seem to engulf me is definitely my accountability partners; people I have whom I can go to and report my failures. People who, in a sense, are competing with me, and most importantly people whom I don't want to disappoint. Those people I am trusting with my goals and who take that seriously. People who buoy me up and encourage me to press on and work harder the next day, or the next week. They are my flotation device in this. These changes, for me and I would say for most people, require large amounts of focus and intensity and those require energy. I know that I only have so much energy to spend and some weeks that gets spent on other things. That is when the support of others is so important to carry you, just for a little while while you regain some vigor. Just like a flotation device will keep you above the water when your own efforts aren't enough Accountability partners can be (and for me, are) the best flotation devices when making changes. If accountability partners sounds like deja vu it is likely because I mentioned Accountability as one of my first recommendations, I cannot stress how important it has been for me to have people I can rely on.
So now I speak from a real, and eye-opening experience when I say you are going to have bad days, and bad weeks. But you can get through it. Don't get stuck on your failures, look at them as speed bumps not stop signs: a bit of a slow down, but not enough to stop you completely. So as I endeavor to push the throttle and get back to the intensity and speed I had for a month, I know you can do the same. Find your motivation, keep it handy/ visible, and more importantly find your flotation device.
Results
Weight: 209.4 (ouch) big step back this week.
Measurements: I have 3 more weeks to make some changes!
Goal One: Physical Activity - 2/6 No good. This week I look to rebound.
Goal two: Eating Habits - Big step back here too. Grocery day tomorrow, which will be used to set me up for a successful week.
Goal three: Sleeping Habits - This one is staying fairly steady, so I at least hit one goal this week!
I have gotten the question about what keeps me going after a slip-up, and what keeps me motivated. This week, I feel like I lost all motivation and energy for the changes. that being said, I still have things that motivate me and keep me going:
Motivation: My motivation in a lot of ways was vanity, curiosity, and a 'challenge accepted' mentality. When I started this, I was looking the mirror and I hated what I saw. I watch movies, particularly superhero movies and all I saw is what I wanted to look like. That may not be realistic, to compare myself to actor paid millions to peak physical condition, but it sparked a jealousy and maybe a a curiosity to see what I could do, to see what I could look like. To keep that I made a sort of vision board that I see everyday that has images of what my body part ideals would be. (abs, arms, etc...) and it is the reminder of what I want to accomplish. That being said motivation can only carry you so far, it is impossible to always be motivated. When motivation fails, that is where discipline and habits carry you. But sometimes, you need a flotation device.
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| Credit to Problem Addicts for the Image |
Flotation Device (Discipline Aid): The waters of change get turbulent and sometime will overwhelm your efforts to tread them. What keeps me afloat right now, and all the times the waters seem to engulf me is definitely my accountability partners; people I have whom I can go to and report my failures. People who, in a sense, are competing with me, and most importantly people whom I don't want to disappoint. Those people I am trusting with my goals and who take that seriously. People who buoy me up and encourage me to press on and work harder the next day, or the next week. They are my flotation device in this. These changes, for me and I would say for most people, require large amounts of focus and intensity and those require energy. I know that I only have so much energy to spend and some weeks that gets spent on other things. That is when the support of others is so important to carry you, just for a little while while you regain some vigor. Just like a flotation device will keep you above the water when your own efforts aren't enough Accountability partners can be (and for me, are) the best flotation devices when making changes. If accountability partners sounds like deja vu it is likely because I mentioned Accountability as one of my first recommendations, I cannot stress how important it has been for me to have people I can rely on.
So now I speak from a real, and eye-opening experience when I say you are going to have bad days, and bad weeks. But you can get through it. Don't get stuck on your failures, look at them as speed bumps not stop signs: a bit of a slow down, but not enough to stop you completely. So as I endeavor to push the throttle and get back to the intensity and speed I had for a month, I know you can do the same. Find your motivation, keep it handy/ visible, and more importantly find your flotation device.
Results
Weight: 209.4 (ouch) big step back this week.
Measurements: I have 3 more weeks to make some changes!
Goal One: Physical Activity - 2/6 No good. This week I look to rebound.
Goal two: Eating Habits - Big step back here too. Grocery day tomorrow, which will be used to set me up for a successful week.
Goal three: Sleeping Habits - This one is staying fairly steady, so I at least hit one goal this week!
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